One22 released today its completed needs analysis of at-risk and in-need middle and high school aged students in Teton County. The project, which was funded by the Laura Jane Musser Fund and prepared with the help of more than two dozen contributing organizations, paints a stark picture of the challenges facing underserved youth in our community.

Sharel Love with research team members Jack McGuire, Domenic Cuzzolina and Carey Stanley

“When we’re working with families in crisis, no matter what the presenting circumstance, it’s important to keep in mind the impacts that housing and food insecurity, violence and discrimination, and lack of opportunity have on the next generation,” said One22 Executive Director Sharel Lund Love.

“There are incredible resources for youth in Teton County, and all are seeking to deploy their services in the highest, best use. This study will aid all youth-serving organizations to refine programming according to real-world feedback to a trusted source,” said Love. “The bottom line is that our children are facing some very grown up decisions, and some will break your heart. But we cannot expect to help their parents or them, though public policy or direct services, unless we understand their day-to-day realities in their own words.”

Love said One22 will continue to assemble data to help inform the community and its policy makers of the needs and challenges that often go unnoticed or misunderstood among the greater Teton area’s interdependent residents.

The research was conducted in the summer and fall of 2017 after One22 received a grant from the Laura Jane Musser Fund to help develop a comprehensive research project to uncover the needs of underserved youth in our community. The goal of this data-driven, first-hand analysis, is to provide our community with the information necessary to design, improve, and implement youth programming.

“Economic challenges, immigration issues, college pressures, acceptance and social media acceptance, peer pressures related to drugs/alcohol/sex, and racism and discrimination were amongst the biggest issues facing youth in our community today,” wrote One22 Program Director Carey Stanley in the executive summary. “We hope that other stakeholders in the community, particularly those involved in Systems of Education, will work together to build future programming based on this research and the expressed needs and interests in the community.”

The analysis includes a comprehensive overview of research methods, findings, identified issues, and youth and family program recommendations. The full report is now available at one22jh.org.